” During an April 28 meeting with Ambassador, Our Ukraine (OU) insider Petro Poroshenko emphatically denied he was using his influence with the Prosecutor General to put pressure on Tymoshenko lieutenant Oleksandr.”

” During an April 28 meeting with Ambassador, Our Ukraine (OU) insider Petro Poroshenko denied that he was behind Prosecutor General Oleksandr Medvedko’s recent decision to issue an arrest warrant for Tymoshenko lieutenant Oleksandr Turchynov. … [to] question him about the alleged destruction of SBU [Ukraine intel] files on organized crime figure Seymon Mogilievich.” [Russian Mafia Boss of Bosses] WikiLeaks Public Library of U.S. Diplomacy

The motivation for alleged destruction of files appeared in an embassy message from April 14, 2006.

“– The files contained information about Tymoshenko’s cooperation with Mogilievich when she ran United Energy Systems in the mid-late 1990s.” WikiLeaks

Yulia Tymoshenko, an aspiring oligarch, is the darling of the both the Bush and Obama administrations for her role in the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought the first modern anti-Russian Ukraine government to power. She helped negotiate the natural gas deals between Ukraine and Russia. In the message above, Poroshenko is making excuses for seeking Timoshenko’s prosecution by Ukraine legal authorities.

Yulia Tymoshenko, an aspiring oligarch, is the darling of the both the Bush and Obama administrations for her role in the 2004 Orange Revolution that brought the first modern anti-Russian Ukraine government to power. She helped negotiate the natural gas deals between Ukraine and Russia. In the message described above, Poroshenko is making excuses to the U.S. Ambassador for seeking Timoshenko’s prosecution by Ukraine legal authorities.

Another mention of Poroshenko made it clear that the State Department saw the future value of Poroshenko’s insider role.

“OU-insider Petro Poroshenko was in the running for the PM job.” WikiLeaks

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the current president in 2009 when he served as Ukraine Foreign Minister. The content of the meeting was described in a confidential message from the U.S. Embassy in Kiev on December 18, 2009:

[Speaking to Ukraine Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko] “She [Secretary of State Clinton] emphasized that the United States envisioned multiple pathways to NATO membership.” WikiLeaks

Ask yourself, how would you regard a high level U.S. politician who met regularly at a foreign embassy and consistently advanced the interests of that country. Poroshenko was instrumental in a now defunct Ukraine faction called Our Ukraine. However, the pertinent information is that newly elected president had meetings (recounted in secret State Department messages) with the U.S. Ambassador, staff, and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others. The two cited concern critical U.S. interests (going light on Tymoshenko corruptions charges and plans to have Ukraine join NATO). Since he was doing his work in secret, he was “our insider.” It follows that Poroshenko played the role of agent: ” someone hired or recruited by an intelligence agency to do its bidding. The person to whom the agent reports — the actual agency employee–is known as an operative.” Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security.

Poroshenko is a Ukrainian oligarch, one of the fifty or so wealthiest citizens who run the country. It is unlikely the president got cash for his services but highly likely that he extracted financial advantage as a result.

Amidst the chaos and ruin visited upon Ukraine, Poroshenko’s recent election may mean a full synchronization of U.S. – Ukraine policies regarding the eastern regions where citizens of Ukraine are subject to bombardment by land an air in their towns and cities.

False Hope at D-Day Gathering?

At the recent D-Day commemoration in France, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland arranged a fifteen-minute meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the newly elected Ukrainian president. Both leaders agreed that military actions must stop and set up a date for meetings to accomplish that goal. Putin went beyond military settlement by offering Ukraine its former discounts on Russian gas.

According to the Guardian, “Putin said he welcomed Poroshenko’s call for an end to the bloodshed and liked his approach to settling the crisis but wanted to wait until the Ukrainian leader could deliver it in detail to the nation.” (Authors emphasis) Poroshenko delivered some detail to the nation but it wasn’t what Putin wanted to hear in order to move forward. The inauguration speech in Kiev included the new president’s desire to sign the European Union (EU) association agreement and seek full integration into the EU, which implies NATO membership.

“Dear friends, my pen is already in my hands. I am ready now. As soon as the EU takes a relevant decision, the signature of the Ukrainian president will immediately appear under this document. We see the association agreement as only the first step towards Ukraine’s fully-fledged membership in the European Union ” Petro Poroshenko, June 7

As Poroshenko spoke, “Residents [of Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine] said the sounds of shelling reverberated around the city on Friday.” ABC, June 7

Which Poroshenko can we believe? The president who worked for the U.S. as “our Ukraine insider” or the elected head of a sovereign state engaged in honest diplomacy?

Right now, it’s safe to stick with the bellicose rhetoric of the inaugural speech. In a heavily documented report, RT showed the handiwork of President Poroshenko’s troops in Slavyansk – eight dead yesterday from aerial bombardment of the separatist occupied city administrative building.

“Death and destruction is reported in eastern Ukraine as Kiev’s artillery has resumed shelling the rebellious city of Slavyansk. Locals tell RT they have been without running water and power for days, and that hope is fading.” RT, June 8

The $5 billion spent to get a U.S. friendly government in the Ukraine worked. “Our Ukraine insider,” Petro Poroshenko, is president. He was informed five years ago that the U.S. wanted Ukraine in NATO, and he no doubt heard Vice President Joseph Biden’s speech in Kiev. Without a vote by Congress or a valid treaty, Biden assured the then coup-run government that our government would be there to help.

U.S. will stand by Ukraine in face of Russian aggression, Biden says

“I came here to Kiev to let you know, Mr. Prime Minister, and every Ukrainian know that the United States stands with you and is working to support all Ukrainians seeking a better future. You should know that you will not walk this road alone. We will walk it with you.” Vice President Joseph Biden, April 22

The players and plans have been in place for years and it’s all paid off. The White House and their masters finally have their insider in place in charge of Ukraine. It’s worth listening to the assessment of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst and his Deputy around the time they handled Poroshenko. The ambassador saw him as a “disgraced oligarch” and his deputy pointed out that “Poroshenko was tainted by credible corruption allegations.”

Spreading brand democracy around the world is a tough job. Somebody’s got to do it.

Obama administration lapdog, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, threatened the Eastern Ukraine resistance with harsh punishment for defending themselves against his government’s military assault on their towns and cities. Reuters reported the following promise of reprisal:

Poroshenko and his comrades were reacting to a major resistance victory against Ukraine’s regular army. Somewhere between 20 and 40 Ukrainian troops were killed in an attack by resistance forces under the command of Igor Strelkov. Poroshenko failed to note that the missiles he claimed were used against Ukraine regulars are the same types of weapons the Kiev government used against cities and towns in the contested, densely populated Donbass region under attack.

For weeks, Ukraine troops have assaulted towns and cities in what the government terms an “anti terrorist operation.” The definition of terrorist seems to be anyone who resists the central governments authority or who lives in a city where resisters are present. The 100,000 plus city of Slavyansk was besieged by Ukraine artillery and aircraft for weeks before resistance forces successfully evacuated the city.

The resistance is now focused on defending Donetsk, a city of over a million people. Lugansk, population 500,000, the other major city in the Donbass region, is also targeted and under fire.. With greater resources and equipment, the Strelekov led forces should perform even better in Donetsk than they did in Slavyansk where the resistance fought the Ukraine military to a standstill.

The presence of documented Nazi sympathizers in the street riots and subsequent Ukrainian government raises an obvious comparison between Ukraine’s threat and the German Nazi reprisal killings during World War II. As it turns out, the Poroshenko government reprisal policy goes beyond one of the most notorious Nazi reprisals.

In March 1944, a column of Nazi soldiers marched down the Via Rasella in Rome. Italian partisans set a trap in the form of a bomb that ended the march and killed over 30 German troops. The Nazi reprisal called for 10 dead Italians for each dead German soldier. A few days later, 335 Italian prisoners were murdered in the Ardeatine caves near Rome. The German 10 to 1 reprisal ratio is exceeded by the low end of Poroshenko’s 20 (“scores”) to 1 (“for every soldier’s life”) ratio on up to hundreds to 1.

The reprisal policy endorsed by Ukraine’s president extends a Nazi theme previously announced by government officials. In late June, Ukraine’s Defense Minister announced that resisters in the East Donbass region would go through “filtration” camps in preparation for resettlement in other parts of Ukraine.

Surely, we are tempted to think, this publically previewed war crime will cause the Obama administration and its NATO puppets to abandon Ukraine’s extremist government.

That is not the case. The United states State Department continues to issue support for Poroshenko and his very strange, not very efficient government. When asked about the loss of civilian lives in the conflict, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said:

“Ukraine, again, has the right to defend their country and their people and maintain calm and order to the degree they can. So we certainly support them in that effort.” July 8.

This world is a veil and the face you wear is not your own. Preacher Joel Theriot, True Detective

Tent preacher Joel Theriot’s full sermon from episode three of True Detective provides a preview and explanation of detective Rust Cohle’s conversion from a laconic nihilist extraordinaire who can barely live with himself to an enlightened soul with some prospect for peace.

In episode 7, Cohle laments his long journey through violence and depravity then says I’m ready to tie it off. Many suspected that this forecast death for Cohle in the final episode. In a very real sense, that theory proved correct but it was a different type of death.

As it turns out, True Detective is the story of a seeker of truth. Rust Cohle’s moment of enlightenment in episode 8 came after years of searching and suffering.

The most elegant and revealing statement of Cohle’s struggle and revelation is, in my opinion, the sermon delivered by Joel Theriot in episode 3, The Locked Room. The seemingly less than sophisticated preacher and an audience of those at the margins of life in rural Louisiana hide the profound message delivered for those willing to listen. Episode 3 shows only a portion of the sermon. The entire sequence is available on YouTube and is well worth watching (several times).

The sermon represent a narrative map for the broader story told throughout the series, which reaches a climax at the end of the season finale. Of note, preacher Theriot is of the evangelical school of Christianity. He both delivers the sermon to and experiences it with the congregation as indicated by their frequent, fervent interaction. There are no strictures, admonitions, or rules; just the presentation of a higher wisdom and path to inner peace available to everyone with ears to hear. Theriot’s sermon is in italics along with my comments.

He saw you in those dark corners. He heard you. Oh brothers, he heard those thoughts.

The question, are you there?

Since the death of his daughter, Cohle has suffered unrelenting guilt for failing to protect her. For years, Cohle has been the only person listening to his thoughts. No one else is there. He is alone without comfort.

Would that we had ears to hear, because every moment, every now is an answer. Every beat of every heart, every second of every minute, every minute of every hour, every hour of every day is an answer.

And the answer is yes, yes, yes.

Theriot has a forceful answer to the question Are you there? He is and he is with us every moment. But what does he represent. Everything in the scene tells us that he is Jesus. But we don’t hear the name Jesus until four minutes into the six-minute sermon. Cohle and partner Marty Hart are seen at the back of the tent watching Theriot preach. Cohle’s nonchalant attitude, leaning against the tent post is more than disinterest. It represents contempt from the Cohle we know up to this point. (In the final airing of this episode, he says to Marty: What do you think the average IQ of this crew is? I see a propensity for obesity, poverty and fairy tales.)

Your sorrows pin you to this place. They divide you from what your heart knows. … We bandaged our soft selves in hardness and anger. You are a stranger to yourself and yet he knows you. And, when your hard heart made you like unto the stone and broke you from his body – which is the stars and the wind between the stars – he knew you. He knew you yet and forever. Because I ask you, how could a father forget his children?

Cohle became a stranger to himself as a result of hardness and anger due to the death of his daughter. He was so hardened to the world, so profoundly skeptical and alienated, it broke Cohle from his body; separated him from the embrace and protection of the peace surrounding him at the time of his greatest need.

If ever your sorrow becomes such a burden that you forget yourself, forget this world, I want you to remember this truth…

This world is a veil and the face you wear is not your own.

The shape of our face is not yet known to us.

The story of Cohle’s life after the loss of his daughter is the story of sorrow and grief becoming such a burden that Cohle forgot himself and the world. Theriot challenges everyone there, including Cohle, to remember this truth. This world is a veil and we are not ourselves. The shape of our face … not yet known to us is the essence of the message. By using the term yet, Theriot indicates that the veil can be lifted, that we can know ourselves as Cohle realizes at the end of the final episode.

Cohle’s insights shared with Marty mark both his enlightenment and his willingness to join the world through a real relationship with his partner. Cohle talks about descending into the darkness of death as losing my definitions. This prepares him to see the ability to join with his lost daughter as the final words of the sermon promise.

Be in him and of him and then know peace. That is his gift to us, our birthright. In the end, we will find ourselves at the beginning and will at last know ourselves and our true faces will weep in his light; and those tears, those tears will feel like a warm rain. Amen

This further elaborates Cohle’s enlightenment. This is our birthright but realizing it requires profound suffering and trials, in some cases. This was one of those cases.

END

N.B. For those interested, a similar message appeared nearly two millennia ago:

“My advice to you [PM Erdogan]: Take a helicopter and flee abroad and resign. Those who rob the state cannot stay in the Prime Ministry.” Turkey’s main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu

Audio tape recordings of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan talking with his son Bilal offer explicit revelations of deception and corruption on the same day that Istanbul prosecutors raided the homes of the PM’s ministers, cronies, and their adult children. The recording was released on Twitter yesterday and widely available to Turkish internet users. Anonymous blogger, Haramzadeler, published the tapes, which are believed to be copies of original recordings by Turkish law enforcement officials. (Image: turkletom)

Erdogan called his son, Bilal, four times on December 17, 2013 between 8:20 am and 11:20 pm. In the first call, the PM alerts his son to the now famous police raids of December 17. He states that the homes of three adult children of former Erdogan ministers are being raided and tells his son to clear out the PM’s money in Bilal’s safe.

PM: OK? Now, what I [have to] say is, you [must] take everything you have in the house out. OK?

BILAL: What can I have on me, Dad? [I have no money of my own.] There is your money in the safe. Today’s Zaman, Feb 26

In the same call Turkey’s leader announces that his daughter will be over soon to give Bilal information on where to hide the money. The PM then mentions that his other son, Bilal’s older brother, will provide information as well on where to hide the money from the safe.

In a few short moments Erdogan implicated himself in a scheme to hide money from a presumed police search and involved his son Bilal, his daughter, and Bilal’s older brother in the conspiracy to hide evidence from the police.

It gets worse. The PM called Bilal at 11:17 am. Even more members of the Erdogan family are implicated in criminal activities.

BILAL: Dad, we got together with Hasan [brother], etc. Berat [brother], my uncle, we are together thinking about it [what to do.] Berat has another idea. He says let’s give some of it to Faruk [Kalyoncu] for the other “business/thing” so he can process it like the previous stuff. Shall we do it? We can dissolve a big amount with this. Today’s Zaman, Feb 26

How much money are we talking about?

Quite a bit. By the forth and last call at 11:15 pm, we get an idea of how much cash Bilal and his siblings are carrying around.

BILAL: We have not zeroed it yet, Dad. Let me explain. We still have 30 million euros that we could not dissolve yet. Berat thought of something. There was an additional $25 million that Ahmet Çalık should receive. They say let’s give this [to him] there. When the money comes, we do [something], they say. And with the remaining money we can buy a flat in Şehrizar, he says. What do you say, Dad? Today’s Zaman, Feb 26

The 30 million euros represent the left over amount from the day’s effort to conceal the money Erdogan mentioned in the 8:20 am call. Reports indicate the amount could reach $1 billion.

The December 17 police raids shocked the Erdogan government and political opponents. Police arrested current and former senior officials in Erdogan’s AKP party after prosecutors issued warrants. The Istanbul chief of police refused to jail those arrested. Shortly after the raids, the prosecutors and senior police involved were fired or transferred to other locales and cases.

At the time, rumors floated about Bilal Erdogan as a suspect in the corruption probe. Police finally questioned Bilal on 2014. These were the police hand picked to replace the December 17 prosecutors and investigators removed by Erdogan. There were no charges brought and Bilal Erdogan remains free to this day.

Other corruption cases have been brought with more Erdogan cronies arrested. In each case, the senior prosecutors and police investigators were fired or transferred.

Are the tapes real?

Kemal Kilicdaroglu , leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), reviewed the tapes and had them checked for authenticity prior to playing the tapes on the floor of the Turkish Parliament. Audio experts in Istanbul were open about authenticating the tapes. A WordPress blogger provided an audio engineering analysis of the tapes to show authenticity. Most telling, Today’s Zaman reported that five government officials in charge of “cryptographic phones,” the type used by Erdogan, were fired implying that there were actual breaches of security allowing Erdogan to be taped.

Erdogan and Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology both claimed that the tapes were a fraud with out reference to supporting evidence.

In a sign of where this is all going politically, the head of the Kurdish party in Parliament, the BDP, said:

“The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey [TUBITAK] is right next to Parliament. The prime minister and his son could give their voice samples and in 20 minutes it can be verified whether those voices belong to them or not.” Selahattin Demirtas, Hurriyet Daily News, Feb 25

Neither the Prime Minister nor his son Bilal has offered up voice samples.

Erdogan’s AKP passed to pieces of legislation recently to stop the use of the Internet and the judiciary in ways that might interfere with his power. The Internet bill allows the government to take down any material perceived to be subversive within four hours of publication. The judiciary bill gives the prime minister control of the selection of judges and the assignment of cases.

The prosecutor and police firings and transfers, the Internet bill, and ending an independent judiciary may all be too late for beleaguered Prime Minister Erdogan. The audio recordings released by pseudonymous blogger Haramzadeler may be all it takes to topple the seemingly invincible Prime Minister Erdogan.

END

For ongoing coverage of this scandal see Turkish news sources published at great risk to publishers, editors and reporters: Hurriyet Daily News and Today’s Zaman.

Oh brother! They’ll be coming out of the woodwork, bragging about how right they were. It starts below with this missive from Peter Daou:

“In a word, a handful of liberal bloggers warned you every step of the way for two years: ignore progressive values at your own peril — and ours. Governing on principle is good politics. Trashing your principles because focus groups tell you to do so is bad politics.

“I’ll say this again: If you stand up for your principles, you may lose the election but keep your principles; if you ditch your principles, you’ll lose both.

“Listen to the bloggers who give a damn whether you win or lose. Don’t listen to crusty Beltway pundits who watched your rise with silent disdain and now watch your fall with silent glee.” Peter Daou, Nov 3, 2010

Here are the facts.

There is just one political party in the United States, The Money Party. There’s the Republican wing, we’ll call them the “crazies”, and the Democratic wing, now known as “the sleepwalkers.” They all work for the same paymasters, the financial elite who thrive on bubbles, scams, and endless war. If you don’t start from that assumption, you haven’t been paying attention.

Why would Obama listen to you or any other “liberal” blogger. First, he’d think that you’re less than serious for assuming that he’d ever listen. There’s a greater chance that pigs will fly than any politician listening who rises up through this money drenched system. In case you have not noticed, nobody gets to be president unless they’re in the bag of big money.

Obama has continued bailouts, war, and the civil rights violations of the Bush administration. Those are his principles. Isn’t that a hint that he doesn’t care what liberal bloggers think? The president has even added a new wrinkle – targeting U.S. citizens for assassination once he’s proclaimed them a “terrorist.” Any 8th grader studying the Constitution knows that this is illegal. This reflects his principles – selective death sentences for citizens without an arrest or trial. Talk about the tyrannical model of leadership.

Obama’s cabinet choices and other appointments showed his principles – Summers, Geithner, industry flacks running regulatory agencies. His principles showed when he gave Wall Street a big bonus for screwing up the economy and driving the people down. His principles showed when he committed the nation to another quagmire.

He did a bait-and-switch. That’s why the Democrats lost the election. The people know a hustle when they see it. They know they’re in trouble. They know Obama and Company could care less along with the spineless Democrats who promised change and delivered nothing.

Q: Talk about the role of the opposition party, the Democrats.

Vidal: It isn’t an opposition party. I have been saying for the last thousand years that the United States has only one party—the property party. It’s the party of big corporations, the party of money. It has two right wings; one is Democrat and the other is Republican. Gore Vidal, Aug 2006

The 2010 House and Senate Forecast Models are based on a comprehensive analysis of Registered Voter (RV) and Likely Voter (LV) polls.

The LV Model predicts a 234-201 GOP House and a 50-48 Democratic Senate. Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball predicts a 233-202 GOP House and a 49-49 Senate. Electoral-vote.com has a 51-48-1 Democratic Senate and a 217-200 GOP House with 18 ties. But the registered voter (RV) projections tell a different story.

The Democrats lead the weighted average of 18 Senate RV polls by 8.5%. They lead the corresponding LV sub-samples by 0.9%.

The RV projections indicate a 53-45 Democratic Senate.

The GOP leads the latest 30 House Generic LV polls by 6.8%. They lead the latest 19 RV polls by just 0.7%.